My previous post “Ten Handwritten Editing Marks” demonstrated the copyediting and proofreading marks for deletions, insertions, transposed letters, paragraphs, periods, commas, apostrophes, quotation marks, capitalization, and lowercasing. Today’s post demonstrates ten more handwritten editing marks: parentheses, spaces, bold font, italic font, remove formatting, en dashes, em … [Read more...] about Ten More Handwritten Editing Marks
substantive editing
How to Use Track Changes in Microsoft Word
This tutorial shows how to use Track Changes in Microsoft Word. Track Changes helps us edit documents by tracking insertions, deletions, replacements, and format changes. Word calls these edits markups. The term Track Changes is commonly used for both edits and comments, so this tutorial also includes Word’s comment tool. We will cover eleven topics: How to Turn … [Read more...] about How to Use Track Changes in Microsoft Word
Thirteen Technology Questions to Answer before You Hire an Editor
There are many questions to answer before you hire an editor. Does the editor have experience in your field or genre? Is the editor’s technique compatible with your writing style? Can the editor meet your scheduling needs? In addition to those important questions (and many more), here are thirteen technology questions to ponder. Of course, some of these questions may not apply … [Read more...] about Thirteen Technology Questions to Answer before You Hire an Editor
How to Change Your Name for Existing Comments and Mark-Ups in Adobe Acrobat
Have you ever used Adobe Acrobat’s comment and mark-up tools to edit an entire document only to realize afterward that you should have used a generic name, such as Editor, rather than your own name? This tutorial demonstrates how to change your name for existing comments and mark-ups in Adobe Acrobat---so you no longer have to live with an unwanted moniker (at least not in … [Read more...] about How to Change Your Name for Existing Comments and Mark-Ups in Adobe Acrobat
How to Change Your Name for New Comments and Mark-Ups in Adobe Acrobat
My last post explained how to change your user name for the track changes tool in Microsoft Word. Today’s post shows how to change your name for new comments and mark-ups in Adobe Acrobat. These steps also apply to Adobe Acrobat Pro DC, Acrobat 2020, and Acrobat 2017. Note that in Acrobat, the name you work under is sometimes referred to as your author name even when you’re … [Read more...] about How to Change Your Name for New Comments and Mark-Ups in Adobe Acrobat
How to Change Your User Name for Track Changes in Microsoft Word
Have you ever wanted (or needed) to be an incognito editor, a covert reviewer, or a clandestine collaborator? If so, this post is for you—or for your secret identity—because it demonstrates how to change your user name for Track Changes in Microsoft Word on a PC. Are you on a Mac? Please visit "How to Change Your Name for Track Changes in Word for Mac." This tutorial is … [Read more...] about How to Change Your User Name for Track Changes in Microsoft Word
How to Reply to Comments and Mark-Ups in Adobe Acrobat DC
My last post explained the basics of how to use Adobe Acrobat DC’s comment and mark-up tools. Today’s post explains how to reply to comments and mark-ups in Adobe Acrobat DC through written responses and by changing the status of individual or multiple comments and mark-ups. As mentioned in the previous post, Acrobat’s comment and mark-up tools can't change the document. … [Read more...] about How to Reply to Comments and Mark-Ups in Adobe Acrobat DC
Six Tips for Handling Unwanted Writing Advice
As a business and nonfiction copy editor, I provide unvarnished (but still polite) writing advice for my clients. But another part of my job is less direct: I talk with people about their relationship with writing so that I can customize my approach to their professional or personal needs. Unsurprisingly, many people have negative feelings about writing because they have … [Read more...] about Six Tips for Handling Unwanted Writing Advice
A Brief Overview of Adobe Acrobat’s Spell-Check Tool
Adobe has noticeably improved the editing tools in the most recent versions of Acrobat Pro and Acrobat Standard. The tools feel more fluid and integrated into the user interface than they did in previous versions; and while they aren’t as intuitive as Microsoft Word’s Track Changes, Acrobat’s text comments, highlight comments, and sticky notes (shown below) actually provide … [Read more...] about A Brief Overview of Adobe Acrobat’s Spell-Check Tool
Four Tips for Using the Spelling and Grammar Check in Word
When you inherit a Microsoft Word document, the original author's settings can affect the document even when you open it on your own computer. These lingering and potentially unwanted settings may prevent you from receiving a complete spelling and grammar check from Word’s Editor. Here are four quick tips for using the spelling and grammar check in Word effectively—even if your … [Read more...] about Four Tips for Using the Spelling and Grammar Check in Word